Brain Drug Could Help Treat Impotence
A U.S. drug
company's researchers said a new brain medication also gives erections
to lab rats.
The finding
raises the possibility that the drug, called ABT-724, someday could rival
existing human sexual dysfunction medications such as Viagra and Cialis,
Nature Science Update reported.
The drug, developed
by Abbott Laboratories, is a variant of another anti-impotence medication
called apomorphine, which currently is sold in Europe.
Both work by
activating receptors in the brain for a molecule called dopamine, triggering
a rush of blood to the penis.
Where apomorphine
stimulates all dopamine receptors, ABT-724 targets only some, called D4
receptors, which could sidestep the side-effects, such as nausea and vomiting,
suffered by some apomorphine users.
Rats injected
with ABT-724 developed erections without getting sick.
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